The scrap ‘iron horse’ and the poor old man

Living for many years by repairing motorbikes and bicycles and picking up bottles and scraps, Nguyen Hoang (76 years old, living in Ninh Kieu district, Can Tho city) has a passion for invention. Only from discarded damaged items, through skillful hands and rich imagination, he made many other valuable things. One of them is a special ‘iron horse’ that helps him move on the street every day.

Iron horse moving on the street. Quietly in the middle of the crowded street In the past few days, on Cach Mang Thang Tam route, mixed with cars and motorbikes, there is a funny “iron horse”. The horse moves quite slowly, quietly, but almost everyone passing by has to look at it for a few moments because of the special difference. The horse has a rather odd shape, with its mane and head simply decorated with foam and wigs but very soulful. The body of the iron horse is an old buggy (like a bicycle with wheels and seats), with 2 wheels and a seat. However, the most noticeable highlight of this iron horse is the front legs. Because the rear legs are two stationary bicycle wheels that can rotate, the two front wheels are responsible for moving. In addition, the two sides of the horse’s head are two control bridles made from drawstrings that look very lively. To create a step for his iron horse, Mr. Hoang used a pulley made from an old chain (slug) and attached it to the pedal. Every time he stepped forward, the wheel would pull the horse’s legs to move forward. Although the chain rotates evenly, when moving the horse makes very smooth steps thanks to a bent shaft in the front. This is also the secret that took him many days to complete, after the idea of ​​this iron horse was rekindled. Thanks to his forward steps and rear wheel, his iron horse can not only move forward and backward, but can turn and stop if necessary. From a distance, his steed is nothing more than a real steed that we might have seen somewhere in old movies. To many people, this rudimentary iron carriage of Mr. Hoang is simply a toy because it moves slowly and with difficulty, but for its owner, this is a whole work of enthusiasm. “It took me almost two days to finish assembling and building this iron horse, but it took me half a year to come up with ideas and gather materials. During the day, I repair bicycles and motorbikes for customers, and in the evening I come back to collect bottles, so I have no money to buy the things I need. All the materials that make up this “horse” are old, damaged things that people throw away, I take it back. But it’s not what I need that people leave. Therefore, it took up to half a year to gather enough materials before assembling it,” said Mr. Hoang sincerely. According to the old man, he built this iron horse completely not because of “playing out” or wanting to express himself, but from the need to move. “Every day, repairing bicycles and motorbikes is enough to support myself. However, I am old, now I have to buy some medicine because my body has this disease or another disease. That’s why I still go to pick up scrap bottles on the street at night. To move more I thought this horse could help me. It can both move, and can carry even picked up items without difficulty getting up and down like a motorbike or bicycle. Hopefully this iron horse will stick with me for a long time, even though its equipment is quite old,” said Mr. Hoang. The poor artist As a native of Thanh Hoa, but because of his difficult living situation, Mr. Hoang has been living in Can Tho city for nearly 60 years, earning a living by various occupations. The hard years of living on the street did not lose his passion for invention, even if it was just simple and funny inventions. But they are no less unique. Before creating this iron horse, Mr. Hoang also created a rudimentary convertible with a red flag with a yellow star that surprised many people a year or two ago on the occasion of the country’s reunification day on April 30. . That 4-wheeler was also invented by him from scrap materials and used for a long time, surprising many people. He also said that, because he didn’t have a lot of money and materials, he often spent a lot of time thinking about the things he would invent. The purpose is to ensure both the needs and the free, you can do it yourself! Like this horse-drawn carriage, it only took him exactly 100 thousand dong to put the welder on the 2 front wheel joints of the horse’s legs with the pedal chain system. Turning a uniform circular motion into a folding motion (horse’s foot) is a difficult task, requiring a dedicated iron bar. Unique iron horse made from scrap. Many people living in Can Tho city were quite surprised to see his unique iron horse. Even many parents, when picking up their children from school when they were out of work, had to stop the car because the children were especially interested in the iron horse. In addition, Mr. Hoang also happily allowed boys, or even adults, to come close to take pictures and sit on this unique iron steed. Only thing is, because the mechanism of operation is quite difficult, apart from Mr. Hoang, it must be very difficult for strangers to control the horse, but it is not as easy as other rudimentary means. In addition to his passion for inventions, Mr. Hoang also has another passion: looking at the red flag with the yellow star. He said that it is the national flag, which is sacred to every Vietnamese child, so in all his inventions or objects, there are flags with fresh colors. The city was pouring into the afternoon, Mr. Hoang began to prepare to go with his iron horse through familiar routes. Looking at him and the horse and strangers, both familiar, old, and nostalgic, he couldn’t help but sigh. I don’t know at the age of 76, how long the other scrap iron horse will stick with him and wander around with him. Because the horse’s footsteps are also created from discarded things, which can be damaged at any time.